Friday, September 01, 2006

The New Term Cometh

I can't believe that it is already September. That means that the first Monday in October, the start of the new term of the Supreme Court, is almost here. Above the Law has a nice preview of what's coming to the big building on One First Street. I've posted information like this before, but this rundown is a little different. It's got that David Lat edge...

Lopez v. Gonzales, Toledo-Flores v. United States: Question presented: What kind of drug crime can get a guy booted back to Mexico? (If this sounds familiar, it should; every Term the Court has some Latino-surnamed case raising a variant of this issue.)

Ornaski v. Belmontes: Question presented: How early in the Term can Judge Reinhardt get reversed?

MedImmune, Inc. v. Genentech, Inc. Question presented: In order for a patent licensee to litigate the validity of a patent, can they merely flip the patent holder the bird, or do they actually have to go ahead and breach the license agreement?

BP America Production Co. v. Watson: Question presented: Have you ever heard of the federal Mineral Leasing Act -- and if so, do you care? (We didn't think so.)

More case summaries, after the jump.

United States v. Resendiz-Ponce: Question presented: How many times can the Ninth Circuit get reversed in criminal cases in a single Supreme Court Term?

Norfolk Southern Railway Co. v. Sorrell: This has something to do with causation standards under the Federal Employers Liability Act in the railroad context. Where's Mrs. Palsgraf?

Cunningham v. California: Question presented: Can the Supreme Court make its Blakely/Booker sentencing jurisprudence even more bewildering than it already is? (Here's Professor Doug Berman's take on Cunningham.)

Judge Reinhardt is known for his carefully crafted opinions.[citation needed]

Notice the lack of citation. I guess even the most die-hard Reinhardt fans can't find a source to back up that claim. How about this instead..."Judge Reinhardt is known for carefully crafting his opinions in a way to expedite their reversal by the Supreme Court." Much better.

Lat thinks this term looks boring and is hoping for some more interesting cert grants. I think the term is already much more interesting than last term. The EPA case and the abortion cases are incredibly interesting. I have faith that the Justices will fill out the rest of the docket with a few more high profile legal nail biters.